1. Wilson’s New Freedom
Woodrow Wilson establishes a strong reform agenda as a progressive leader.

2. Wilson Wins Financial Reforms
Wilson’s Background
Wilson was lawyer, professor, president of Princeton, NJ governor
As president, focuses on trusts, tariffs, high finance
Two Key Antitrust Measures
Clayton Antitrust Act stops companies buying stock to form monopoly
Ends injunctions against strikers unless threaten irreparable damage
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—new “watchdog” agency
— investigates regulatory violations
— ends unfair business practices

3. Wilson Wins Financial Reforms
A New Tax System
Wilson pushes for Underwood Act to substantially reduce tariffs
Sets precedent of giving State of the Union message in person
His use of bully pulpit leads to passage
Federal Income Tax
Sixteenth Amendment legalizes graduated federal income tax
Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System—private banking system under federal control
Nation divided into 12 districts; central bank in each district

4. Women Win Suffrage Local Suffrage Battles
College-educated women spread suffrage message to working-class
Go door-to-door, take trolley tours, give speeches at stops
— some adopt bold tactics of British suffragists
Catt and the National Movement
Carrie Chapman Catt, head of NAWSA, stresses organization, lobbying
National Woman’s Party aggressively pressures for suffrage amendment
Work of patriotic women in war effort influences politicians
1920 Nineteenth Amendment grants women right to vote

5. The Limits of Progressivism
Wilson and Civil Rights
As candidate, wins support of NAACP for favouring civil rights
As president, opposes anti-lynching legislation
Appoints fellow white Southerners to cabinet who extend segregation
NAACP feels betrayed; Wilson self-defense widens rift
The Twilight of Progressivism
Outbreak of World War I distracts Americans; reform efforts stall